First Love, Last Love

The eyes behind the smoky lenses seemed to brighten. ‘You wouldn’t mind?’

Lauri smiled, opening the door wider. ‘Of course not. Come through to the lounge.’ She saw him seated, noticing that he seemed thinner than ever. ‘Would you like a cup of coffee or something?’

‘Coffee would be nice,’ he accepted, sitting tensely on the edge of the armchair.

‘I—Have you eaten?’

‘Eaten?’ he blinked his puzzlement. ‘Breakfast, you mean?’

Lauri nodded. ‘Or breakfast yesterday, or lunch, or dinner?’

‘I—um—’ he put a hand up to his greying temple, ‘I think I had lunch.’

‘But no dinner, and no breakfast this morning?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t believe so, no.’

‘Right. Well, you’re going to have breakfast now.’ She hesitated in the doorway. ‘Would you like to come into the kitchen and talk to me while I cook, or would you rather just sit there quietly?’

Laurence stood up. ‘I’ve had enough silence the last few days to last me a lifetime. Besides, it’s too long since I saw a woman moving about the kitchen preparing me a meal.’ He smiled ruefully.

Lauri pulled out a bar stool for him to sit down on. ‘Bacon and eggs?’

‘L

ovely.’ He seemed to be shedding some of his tension. ‘This is very kind of you, considering I’m a stranger to you.’

‘I don’t consider you a stranger,’ and strangely enough she didn’t. Maybe it was the fact that he had known her parents that made him seem like a friend; whatever it was she felt completely at ease with him.

‘I’m glad,’ he smiled at her. ‘Would you like me to do anything, make the coffee, lay the table?’

‘No, you just sit there.’

It didn’t take long to prepare his meal and give him coffee, and she watched with satisfaction as he looked in anticipation at his bacon and eggs.

He hesitated. ‘Aren’t you having any?’

‘I’ve already eaten. But you go ahead, I’ll join you in a coffee. That is, if you don’t mind having an audience while you eat?’

‘I don’t mind at all. It’s nice just to have company.’

Lauri frowned. ‘You haven’t seen Alex?’

‘Not since the two of you picked me up at the airport. You may have noticed that he and I don’t exactly get on together.’

‘Well … neither of you tried to hide it.’

‘No,’ he acknowledged slowly. ‘I’m afraid I shattered Alex’s illusions about me at an age when he was very impressionable. Did he tell you about it?’

Lauri bit her lip, not wanting to lie, and yet not wanting to hurt this strangely vulnerable man. ‘He mentioned some disagreement you had years ago,’ she prevaricated.

Laurence laughed. ‘It wasn’t a disagreement, and I’m sure Alex more than mentioned it. I committed a great sin as far as he was concerned, and he’s never forgiven me for it. On reflection I think it would have been better if I’d broken away from Beth completely, instead of trying to live year after year as if our marriage was perfectly normal.’

‘More coffee?’ Lauri asked awkwardly.

‘Thank you.’ He held his cup while she refilled it. ‘Have I embarrassed you, talking to you so frankly?’

‘No, of course not.’ She wanted desperately to erase that frown of anxiety from his brow. ‘Maybe being a stranger I’m the ideal person to talk to.’